Encounter the Truth

Jonathan Griffiths: In this great failure of justice, we see the triumph of the beautiful and the gracious plan of God. We see his awe-inspiring plan that the innocent one, even the Lord Jesus himself, should take the place of the guilty, even through the work of corrupt judges and wicked men.

Steve Hiller: Welcome to Encounter the Truth with Jonathan Griffiths. I'm Steve Hiller, glad you've joined us today. Jonathan, if we have been listening to the show for any length of time or have been reading our Bible, we're familiar with the fact that Jesus went through this kind of mock trial, just an absolute mockery of justice.

As I listen to what you just shared with us there, are you saying that one of the things that we ought to do is to expect that type of injustice? And if so, how do we deal with that? Do we just let it roll off our back in some way? Do we ignore it, or how do we engage with injustice?

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, in a surprising kind of a way, I think the story of Easter prepares us to face injustice and helps us deal with injustice, and it does so in this way. The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of the Father sent from heaven above, willingly entered into this world of sin and injustice and pain, and allowed himself to be subjected to this mockery of a trial. And he did so for you, and he did so for me.

Jesus bore the brunt of the world's ugliest injustice that he might redeem us, that he might save us, that he might purchase our forgiveness, that he might even offer salvation to us. And so as we consider what the Lord Jesus has done for us at the cross of Calvary, we're filled with thanksgiving and we're filled with hope. It tells us that the injustice of this world is not something that you and I face alone, and it's not the final word. But we entrust ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ, who knows all about injustice and about pain.

Well, this morning we come to observe the trial, or rather, the series of trials of Jesus Christ. He's on the stand. Accusations are being leveled against him. His very life is clearly on the line. And of course, we know how the story is going to end at the cross of Calvary. But as we dig into the narrative this morning and observe what is taking place, we soon discover that all is not exactly as it seems.

Although Jesus is indeed on trial for his very life, Luke is going to show us that the true judge in this scene is not Herod, and it's not Pilate, but it is in fact Jesus Christ himself. Despite all appearances, Luke will show us that it is actually the accusers of Jesus, it is actually those who would judge Jesus, who stand on trial in these tense and vital hours. And ultimately, as we reflect upon it, Luke will show us that although we are watching these events from afar, as we enter into them as observers here today, we ourselves enter into a moment of judgment. For as we encounter Jesus Christ, we are required each one of us to make our own response to him.

We pick up the narrative today at the point where Jesus has been taken from the garden and hauled to the house of the high priest. His friends have now deserted him. Peter has denied him three times—you remember the story. It's the middle of the night, and things for Jesus are going from bad to worse. His preparation for trial begins with a round of abuse at the hands of the guards. They mock him and they beat him. They put a blindfold over his eyes. They know his reputation as a prophet, and so they demand of him, "Prophesy, prophesy! Tell us who hit you."

At daybreak the proceedings begin. Those who have arrested Jesus, they want to see him condemned. They begin by taking him before the religious leaders, elders, priests, teachers of the law. As those following the drama, we want to keep up, trying to understand why anyone would want to arrest and condemn one such as Jesus. But we get some insight here from the question they put to him in verse 67: "If you are the Christ, tell us."

The Christ, the Messiah, was the long-promised, long-awaited king of Israel who would come and rescue the people of God from their Roman overlords. That was the expectation of the day. The Messiah would come, he would rescue the people of God from the hands of their enemies. Clearly many of the religious leaders in Israel resented or resisted the idea that this carpenter-turned-traveling teacher from Galilee should presume to call himself the Christ, the Messiah, the coming king of Israel.

Clearly he wasn't the great military or political leader they were waiting for. No, they didn't want Jesus to draw any more attention to himself, to gather anything more of a crowd. Jesus knew already that they didn't really want an answer to their question, "Are you the Christ?" If anything, the true answer to that question, the accurate answer, would only cause more trouble now. If Jesus claimed to be the coming king of Israel, the leaders within Israel could use that claim to go to the Romans and say there is an insurrection starting here. There is a threat to Caesar; you must deal with this man.

Well, they next ask if he is the Son of God. Again, that's a title that has kingly overtones in the Old Testament, a title that might well imply a claim to divinity. And when Jesus accepts that title, as he does in verse 70, well, they are more than ready to seek his death. So at the beginning of the next chapter, of chapter 23, the religious leaders take Jesus off to Pilate. Pilate was the Roman governor and, as representative of Rome, he held the keys to true power in that day.

Israel was annexed to Rome, and so the religious assembly in Israel didn't have the power to condemn anybody to death. That was a Roman prerogative. But the Roman governor, he could give the death sentence. The religious leaders now throw accusations against Jesus—opposing Caesar, all the rest, claiming to be the Christ, a king who would rival Caesar. Well, when the issue comes before Pilate, he clearly wants nothing to do with it. This is an internal skirmish involving the religious sensibilities of Israel.

And so he sends Jesus off to Herod. He's a kind of puppet ruler that the Romans had put in place in Galilee, a man from Jewish background but one who was loyal to Rome. Well, Jesus is marched off to Herod next, and Herod, we're told, is actually quite delighted to see Jesus before him. He's heard of Jesus. He's heard that Jesus has the power to do some really quite fancy tricks—miracles. And Herod thinks to himself, "I am in for a treat! Finally, some entertainment."

Well, Jesus refuses to play ball. And so Herod and his soldiers, they turn to mockery to satisfy their desire for some entertainment. Knowing the claim that Jesus is the Messiah, they dress him up in an elegant, a kingly robe. And when they're finished, they send him back to Pilate for Pilate to do what he will. Well, what we're observing here, it is a textbook case of passing the buck, isn't it? We've all seen company departments and government departments hand off problems to others when they don't want to carry responsibility, when they don't want to deal with it, when they don't want to make a decision.

But now this problem has landed firmly back on Pilate's desk, and he is still looking for a way out, looking for a breakthrough that would get him out of a jam. He takes the issue now to the people who brought Jesus in. He gathers in the religious leaders and the people as well, and he says to them, "Look, you brought me this man with all kinds of charges, but neither I nor Herod sees the problem. This guy, he's done nothing deserving death. Look, I know you want me to do something here. Listen, I'll do this. I'll give him a punishment and then I'll release him, okay?"

Now at this point, a mob mentality sets in, and with one voice the crowd cry out, "Away with this man!" There was evidently a tradition for one prisoner to be released at Passover time in an act of clemency. And the people say to Pilate, "Look, keep Jesus firmly locked up and send out Barabbas instead," a man arrested, Luke tells us, for insurrection and for murder. "We'll take him as our freebie this year, this Passover."

Now although Pilate is the representative of the mighty Roman Empire, a figure to be revered, a figure even to be feared, he now looks trapped and confused, doesn't he? He clearly wants to release Jesus, but the crowd are now shouting, "Crucify him, crucify him!" He again tries to offer punishment and then release, but verse 23: "With loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand, and Barabbas is released instead of Jesus."

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Encounter the Truth with Jonathan Griffiths and a message called "A Journey of Injustice." It's part of our larger series, "An Invitation to Paradise." If you missed any part of today's broadcast because maybe you joined us late or you know you have to leave early, or you just want to go back and listen to this program or any previous broadcast in our series again, you can do that when you come to our website, EncountertheTruth.org. There you can stream the program or download an MP3 for free.

Encounter the Truth is listener-supported. That means we depend on your financial generosity to keep Jonathan's teaching on this station. And as you give a gift of any amount this month, Jonathan, you have picked out a book called "The Case for Easter," written by Lee Strobel. How would you envision somebody using and reading this book?

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, I've got two uses in mind for this book, and I hope that this will hit home for many of our listeners today. First of all, for the Christian believer who wants to be reassured and re-convinced of the historicity of the events in which we place our trust as believers, I'd love you to get hold of this and go over the evidence for the resurrection. You know, we don't believe in myth and legend. We are believing in historical reality that is conveyed to us in the word of God but is grounded in real history. And I'd love for you to be convinced and re-convinced of that.

And then for the person who is not yet a convinced Christian believer but is engaging with the evidence, who wants to find out more, you need to know whether the resurrection of Jesus Christ actually happened. And I think this book is going to be a real help to you in persuading you of the evidence for the resurrection, which is real and substantial, and I'd love to get this book into your hands if that's your situation. And of course, for the believer who is thinking of friends and family in that place, hey, get hold of this book and give it to your loved ones that they might read it this Easter.

Steve Hiller: The book is called "The Case for Easter," our thank-you gift to you as you financially support Encounter the Truth this month. The phone number to give a gift of any amount is 1-833-99-TRUTH. That's 1-833-998-7884. Or you can give online at EncountertheTruth.org. You can also write us at Encounter the Truth, 2176 Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K2E 0B1. Or in the US, at Encounter the Truth, 215 North Arlington Heights Road, number 102, Arlington Heights, Illinois, 60004.

Well, as we stand back and consider these monumental and these grievous events, there is a great deal to process here—more than we can fully consider in the time we have. But to begin to understand what is taking place here, to begin to understand its significance, we need to consider two great failures that stand at the heart of this trial. I want to focus our attention there now. At the heart of this trial, Luke shows us there is both a failure of justice and a failure of recognition.

Consider with me first the failure of justice. Part of the great genius of the Roman Empire, and no doubt part of the key to its phenomenal success as an empire, was its ability to enforce and then uphold the rule of law. In a sense, the legal system of Rome, the judicial system of Rome, was one of the great contributions of Rome to the wider world. It is a key part of its legacy. In his Aeneid, Virgil famously wrote of the respective contributions of the Greeks and the Romans to the world. He said this: "The Greeks shape bronze statues so real they seem to breathe, and carve cold marble until it almost comes to life. The Greeks compose great orations and measure the heavens so well they can predict the rising of the stars. But you Romans, remember your great arts." And here they are: "To govern the peoples with authority, to establish peace under the rule of law."

That was the great art of the Romans, the great skill of Rome—to establish peace under the rule of law. Well, whatever the merits of the great Roman system, whatever the value of its legal and judicial legacy, here in the trials of Jesus, all we see is this catastrophic failure. Here is a kangaroo court of the highest order. Here is justice subverted and justice denied. When the religious leaders bring Jesus to Pilate, the only accusation they can muster is one that is patently false. Chapter 23, verse 2: "We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Christ, a king."

Now this is actually quite a believable charge on one level for one who would claim to be Messiah. One of the great frustrations of the Jews was having to pay taxes to Caesar, taxes to Rome. And so any would-be king of Israel must be on a crusade to free Israel from Roman tax. It's a plausible charge for a would-be Messiah, but it just isn't true of Jesus. Remember, this is the one who famously insisted that his followers should give unto Caesar what is Caesar's.

This is the man who garnered scorn upon scorn for actually associating and befriending Rome's tax collectors, associating with them when others wouldn't go near them. No, the charge here is obviously false, isn't it? But rather than investigate these claims, Pilate sends Jesus off to the puppet ruler of Jesus' home region, to Herod, who is tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. Herod, well, he makes very little effort himself. He gets nowhere, and he promptly sends Jesus back.

Now Pilate's own conclusion in all this is very clear. This is not a man worthy of death. Verse 14: "You brought me this man as one who is inciting people to rebellion. I've examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us as you can see. He has done nothing deserving death." Well, so far so good, Pilate. Well done. It sounds like you are actually acting with a degree of integrity here. Maybe Roman justice isn't so bad after all. But then comes verse 16, and it is shocking, isn't it? "Therefore I will punish him and release him."

Now clearly we are not dealing with perfect, impartial justice here. An innocent man should not be punished and then released. He shouldn't be punished; he should simply be released. At very least, Pilate is still minded not to give Jesus the death penalty, and I guess that's something. When the crowd cry out repeatedly for Barabbas, Pilate again insists Jesus does not deserve to die. But when the crowd, they cry yet louder, well, Pilate eventually folds, he capitulates. And so instead of the innocent Jesus being released, as he should have been released by the admission of the very man who sat in the seat of judgment, instead of that, a guilty, a violent man, an enemy of the state, is allowed to walk free.

It is, isn't it, a story of the perversion of justice worthy of the most chaotic courts belonging to the most corrupt regimes? And as we watch and as we listen, we experience a degree of shock at all of this. We're rightly shocked, but we know as well, if we've been listening carefully, we know as well that this is all actually part of the plan of God and of the foreknowledge of Jesus himself.

If you were with us last week, you'll remember how Jesus quoted from that very famous passage from the Old Testament in the prophet Isaiah, chapter 53—the one that speaks of the innocent sufferer who will die for the guilt of the people. And Jesus insists that the words of that passage, they must be fulfilled in him. Chapter 22, verse 37: "It is written, 'and he was numbered with the transgressors,' and I tell you this must be fulfilled in me," says Jesus.

Jesus knew that he, the innocent one, must be numbered among the transgressors. He must be treated as a lawbreaker if he's going to step into the place of sinners, of rebels like me and like you. If he's going to die to pay the price of our wrongdoing, he needs to be numbered among transgressors, even though he is not a transgressor. And actually this picture here in this narrative of Jesus going to his death instead of Barabbas, it is loaded with symbolism, isn't it? It's loaded with significance. Jesus the innocent one dies the death of a criminal. He dies the death of a lawbreaker. He dies the death of a guilty person.

And so, friends, in this great failure of justice, we see the triumph, don't we, of the great and the wonderful and the beautiful and the gracious plan of God? We see his awe-inspiring plan that the innocent one, even the Lord Jesus himself, should take the place of the guilty, even through the work of corrupt judges and wicked men.

Now for so many of us here who have heard these things so many times before, the danger for us is that these truths, they become so familiar that they no longer really impact us. I think that's my fear for myself, and it's my fear for the rest of us this morning as we come to this rich passage. The danger is that this is just another Easter season where we rehearse the truths that we know so well, just another gathering among so many gatherings when we remember the cross of Christ.

And so with that danger in mind, this morning we need to pause. And we need to focus, and we need to remember these truths. We need to consider them together again, and we need to allow them to impact our heart. We need to wonder, each one of us, at the fact that Jesus was willing to step into the place of the guilty, that he was willing to die the death of the criminal, and that he did this all for you, and he did this all for me.

We need to remember it, don't we, when we fail and when we sin, when we feel condemned afresh by our wrongdoing. At those times, we need to remember, don't we, that Jesus stepped into our place? Jesus endured injustice. He endured such suffering, even the cross, so that we the guilty might go free. We need to remember it as well when things are going well for us and when we feel perhaps less the weight of sin and the weight of guilt. When perhaps the wonder of what Jesus did for us at Calvary is less real and less fresh, less precious to us, we need to remember that our sin required payment, demanded payment, invited the very judgment of God.

And we need to remember with grateful hearts that Jesus willingly took our place and endured this injustice for us. We need to remember these things. We need to live in daily awe of them, in daily gratitude. And so here is our reminder that Luke gives us: an innocent man before corrupt judges, that he might be numbered among the transgressors, that he might take my place, that he might take your place. We see in these events that Luke records for us, we see a great failure of justice—terrible to watch, but at the same time essential for our salvation, at the same time at the very heart of the gracious salvation plan of God.

Steve Hiller: Jonathan Griffiths here on Encounter the Truth and a message called "A Journey of Injustice." We do have to pause here, but we'll continue this message on our next broadcast, so I hope you'll be listening. You can always listen online at EncountertheTruth.org. You can stream the program or download an MP3 for free. Again, our website address is EncountertheTruth.org.

Encounter the Truth is listener-supported. That means we depend on your financial generosity to keep Jonathan's teaching on this station. And as you give a gift of any amount this month, Jonathan has picked out a book called "The Case for Easter," written by Lee Strobel. How would you envision somebody using and reading this book?

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, I've got two uses in mind for this book, and I hope that this will hit home for many of our listeners today. First of all, for the Christian believer who wants to be reassured and re-convinced of the historicity of the events in which we place our trust as believers, I'd love you to get hold of this and go over the evidence for the resurrection. You know, we don't believe in myth and legend. We are believing in historical reality that is conveyed to us in the word of God but is grounded in real history. And I'd love for you to be convinced and re-convinced of that.

And then for the person who is not yet a convinced Christian believer but is engaging with the evidence, who wants to find out more, you need to know whether the resurrection of Jesus Christ actually happened. And I think this book is going to be a real help to you in persuading you of the evidence for the resurrection, which is real and substantial, and I'd love to get this book into your hands if that's your situation. And of course, for the believer who is thinking of friends and family in that place, hey, get hold of this book and give it to your loved ones that they might read it this Easter.

Steve Hiller: The book is called "The Case for Easter," our thank-you gift to you as you financially support Encounter the Truth this month. The phone number to give a gift of any amount is 1-833-99-TRUTH. That's 1-833-998-7884. Or you can give online at EncountertheTruth.org. You can also write us at Encounter the Truth, 2176 Prince of Wales Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K2E 0B1. Or in the US, at Encounter the Truth, 215 North Arlington Heights Road, number 102, Arlington Heights, Illinois, 60004.

For Jonathan Griffiths and our producer Mark Bretta, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening, and I hope you'll join us next time.